Free In Plain Sight by Amy Sparling Page A

up classic cars that are probably worth a ton of money.
    “Well, I mean . . . if you really want to,” I say, turning to look at Mom. My bright pink hair falls over my shoulder, still a surprise to see since I’m not used to it.
    “I do want to,” Landon says.
    “You need a new car!” Emma says, shoving a huge mouthful of sausages mixed with pancakes and syrup in her mouth. “You need a blue car!”
    “Red car!” Starla says, grinning her little toddler grin.
    “Or a pink car,” Mom says, throwing me a wink.
    I swallow and set my fork down. The sheer idea of getting a brand new car just given to me is so exciting and scary that I’m not even hungry anymore. “Okay,” I say, partly because cars are awesome and also because I don’t feel I have much of a choice. “Let’s go car shopping.”
     
    #
     
    Landon stops for Starbucks on the way to the dealership. I feel kind of stupid because I have no idea what to order and the menu is so varied that I can’t really decide. We’ve never had money for luxuries like five-dollar coffee before.
    I ask Landon to choose for me, and he orders two Java chip frappuccinos. It is delicious, and I totally approve.
    “So, how are you settling in to your new life?” he asks when we pull out of the Starbucks drive through and head back onto the highway.
    “It’s definitely crazy, but I’m adjusting,” I say with a little laugh. “I really am grateful for all you’re doing for us.”
    “I’m happy to,” he says. “I’m sorry it’s all happened so fast. We didn’t mean for that at all, and Rose and I both kind of kept things reserved at first. I didn’t let her know how wealthy I was, and she—” He heaves a sigh, his hands gripping the steering wheel a little tighter. “She didn’t tell me how bad things were for you guys. I knew she wasn’t well off, and I knew she hated working at Savings Mart, but we planned to start introducing our relationship to you guys slowly. I wanted to take you and the girls out to dinner a few times, stuff like that. But then when Rose said something about the drug raid on the trailer next door keeping her up at night, it didn’t sit right with me. I had to see for myself what kind of living situation you had and it just . . .”
    He shakes his head, a frown forming on his lips. “It just killed me. I didn’t know things were that bad, and now that I did know, well I had to get you out of that situation. Kids are precious and they should never have to live like that.”
    “That’s really kind of you,” I say. I’ve been told similar things from the men in Mom’s past, but they’ve never felt this sincere.
    “I love your mom, Maddie. I really do. And I wish we had moved slower so you could really get to know me before moving in, but still hope things work out well. I want us to be a family, and I want you to know you can come to me with anything, okay?”
    Maybe it’s just the caffeine and sugar rush, but I can’t help but smile. “Thank you.”
    “So,” he says, his demeanor getting more upbeat. “Do you know what type of car you want?”
    I lift my shoulders. “I have no idea. A car, I guess. Not an SUV or anything.”
    He chuckles. “We can test drive them all if you want. I’d suggest something with sunroof because those are fun. And a good sound system, too.”
    I nod along, looking out the window at all the cars we drive by. I have never in my life been in a position to care about cars, much less daydream about getting a new one. Where would I even begin?
    “What kind of car is that?” I ask as a gorgeous midnight blue sporty car zooms past us. It’s low to the ground and looks sleek and kickass. There’s a Chevy symbol on the back of it, but it goes by too quickly to see anything else.
    “A Camaro,” Landon says, nodding. “Excellent car. That was my first car ever, actually.”
    “Hmm,” I say, watching it disappear ahead of us. “A Camaro. Can we look at those first?”
    “Hell yeah,” he